Tuesday, December 31, 2013

So I last left off with you, yesterday, on our electrical being all wired up. Well from yesterday to what I have to show you today is quite an accomplishment. We're so close but so far away! For fun, let's do a little progression picture show.

Day One of the Project

After Demo - removed the door, removed the wallpaper, and me and my impatient self put cabinets in the spot they would reside without taking a picture of the plain wall.

Aaaaand where we are now - drywall installed, cement board installed, & other odds and ends. It's finally looking "built out" from the cabinets and I'm loving where this is headed.

And our plans for the rest of this week are to get those bookshelves up on either side first (which we kinda sorta started on over the weekend but nothing is up yet)- and then tackle putting together that mantle. Maybe even install the tile. Or maybe the tile goes first? We all know I'm not the one who runs the construction show. What are we thinking?! I'm thinking it looks SO GOOD and this was just what the room was missing. Can't wait to show you some more progress!

If you have plans tonight, I hope you have a safe and happy New Year's Eve celebration! I'll be right here in this living room cheering to a finished living room... with champagne of course.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Happy Monday everybody! I have so much to update y'all on (decorations & major progress + a tile purchase) but let's start small. It wouldn't be right of me to ignore all the hard work that Josh put into getting the built ins ready for a TV, DVR, internet, fireplace, etc. We all know that I don't know what went into making this actually work, but what I do know is how much TIME this took & how many trips to the store this required. (Anyone else who just can't seem to buy everything they need in one trip?) Besides, doesn't this look fancy-pants to say that you did this safely yourself?

What this translates to in my world is a whole lotta Netflix watching aaand maybe a show or two on Bravo. #tvjunkie

Gives you a headache, right?

Besides sticking my hands in the wall to catch wires, I was pretty hands off throughout this part of the project.

Now, who's ready to see some real built ins come to life!? Here's a few hints: framing..check, drywall..check, cement board...check. And with all those checks, check back in tomorrow :)

Monday, December 23, 2013

I really need a more clever title for these built in updates. Maybe I can just start numbering them and we can see how many posts I can do about our built ins rather than consolidating them into one?! What fun would that be to consolidate?! None at all. We'll call this built in update #2. Let's see what we conquered over the weekend. For starters, there is a fireplace installed, supported, and framed! That's actually not the starter, that's the finale. But, along with that, Josh did lots of cable & internet hook-ups throughout the house. So, we knew we wanted all the wires hidden obviously - so he went ahead and made new electrical outlets & cable & internet hook-ups behind the built in - but why stop there? We also have these neat little gadgets in all the bedrooms downstairs now.

So, the first thing we did was take the fireplace out of the box and set it up so we can see what the dimensions would be. Or at least I that's what I was doing - making sure it made sense as the future centerpiece of the room. I have to say, for an electrical fireplace, this little cutie really impresses me!

Then Josh installed everything on the supports - and began to frame where the mantle and TV will be. His dad dropped by to help too :)

Here's a nighttime picture of what the fireplace looked like all lit up. My favorite part of the fireplace is that I can just put it on with zero heat. After all, my favorite part is the look of it. Right?

Our stopping point Saturday still included installing the rest of the framing below. Luckily it was all built and ready to go.

And here is where we are now! I love being able to see where the actual mantle and "built out" part will be. Although I know it kinda looks like a bunch of studs - it means so much to me to have this progress. One step closer!

I hope everyone has a very MERRY CHRISTMAS & a HAPPY HOLIDAY! I pray you have a safe, fun-filled, special time with your family and friends!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

So these built ins are quite the ordeal for me. The ordeal being that there is wood EVERYWHERE in my house. I'm ready for this wood to be nailed into the wall where it belongs. Only 2 more work days before my long Christmas break. Can anyone tell it's time?

Once again, there is more that goes into building a built in than anticipated. And that anticipation is on my part - Josh always knows what he is getting himself into. Can you just put the cabinets on the ground? Nope, you have to build supports. Can you just put the fireplace on the ground? Nope, needs a support too. Thank heavens Josh knows what he is doing. I did however help him with all the wood cuts until I got knocked by a piece of wood to go along with my splinter and that was pretty much where I retired those services.

After many many cuts and measurements, all the cuts are made and the wood is ready to go! And, we've made baby steps in getting the "ready to go" in action.

Time to make some supports. As you can see I primed the fronts of the cabinets. That was short-lived because Josh actually needed to touch them.

The supports are made. But here comes the tricky part, our floors and walls are uneven. So it's not as easy as just screwing it in - or nail-gunning it in. Whatever tool you use. Oh, and that blue sheet... Remember this used to be a doorway. Josh is going to drywall it from the other side. I don't fully understand but I just go with it.

Of course Charles wanted to help.

Sorry about this terrible picture, but this is where we are right now. The supports are in, cabinets are in, and the cabinet tops are installed. We will start putting up the shelves and all that goes along with that tonight!

It's slowly coming to life people! Hopefully I have another update by the end of the week :) Hope everyone is having a great pre-Christmas week!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Sorry for my absence! Sickness swept through our household, and it's still lingering actually... On top of that, we've been Christmas partying & Josh has been working long hours. Maybe mix in a little laziness as well. And, honestly, I've been living in a full on construction zone. I'm typically not a complainer, but some times the mess just starts to overwhelm you. Next time you think your house is a mess, I encourage you to take a look at this little montage I have thrown together for you...

This was once upon a time my finished dining room.

Anyway, back to a little bit of progress. Remember how I was supposed to paint our beadboard ceiling a few weeks ago? Well I didn't. But I did however accomplish that this weekend!

So I started out smalll. This woulda taken me AGES.

Then, things started to multiply!

And this isn't even half of them.

Alas, they are all primed and painted. I felt like I had just conquered a huge battle when Josh says "you know we didn't buy enough yet to cover the whole ceiling". Let's change the subject. Here's a little update on the drywall now that it's sanded and almost ready for texture.

We have a few developments in the built in department that I will be back with for tomorrow! Crossing our fingers to still get this knocked out before the end of the year. Send your good vibes this way please!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Who's ready for some terrible iPhone pictures?! Last night we were applying the drywall mud onto the drywall - until 9:00. I was in charge of covering all of the holes where the screws were - all 1000 of them. Mind you, this is only coat 1 of the drywall mud. I hear (from Josh) it takes 4 coats total. Not to mention the sanding between each step. Sigh. This is where we left off last night. No, I'm lying. This where I left off. Josh continued to mud all the corners and around all the doorways and windows. He never stops!

I've heard and seen horror stories of people doing their own drywall hanging. Where I've seen it is in my very house on the ceilings - we're hoping we can prove to be a little bit better than that.

Something interesting to point out is to the left of that window, in the corner, just a couple of days ago, looked like this.

Funny to think what lives behind our walls sometimes huh? Anyway, I think I've settled on this light for the living room. Still haven't purchased sconces. Why do the ones I want have to be $350 a piece? Not gonna happen.

Meanwhile, I'm DESPERATE to start building the built in. On top of that, I think of all times my house has been chaotic and messy and dirty and dusty during this reno, this is the worst it's ever been as far as dust everywhere. Mom close your ears! Can anyone tell I'm exhausted and scatter-brained? And even through all of that dirt and stress, I'm thankful that I have the ability and am fortunate enough to make this renovation happen. Always look on the bright side :)

Monday, December 2, 2013

I have to admit, I slacked a little in the picture department over the Thanksgiving break. It went by so fast as it always does. I posted a few times last week, but I truly didn't do much housework - Josh was alone in that feat. So some of these pictures may be a bit backward.

Where are we with the living room after having an entire week off to work on it? Well, the drywall is screwed into the wall. Is that progress? I'll post about that this week. I mean, it's not that interesting. We were so busy doing all this fun stuff...

Something we accomplished earlier last week was buying all the materials for our built in and mantle that Josh will be putting together. The fireplace is ordered as well. Yay! Here's what some of the materials look like. I got very bored on this trip and had to be quiet so Josh could think so I wasn't paying attention very well.

Oh, and can't forget the materials for the bead board ceiling...

All that lumber shopping had me in the mood for some REAL shopping. My mom and I went boutique shopping, saw "About Time" (have you seen it? We loved it!), had a spa night, and then ended up doing this....

The following day Josh needed to ground all the electrical - that's what I was trying to tell you last week! And I'll post more about that this week as well. Anyway, that was code for me to go on shopping day #2. Here's what our thermostat looked like with our power off... Goodbye!

Thanksgiving number 1 for dinner Wednesday night was spent with my Dad's Mom...

This is what he does when I say "we can forget the wreath"...

And then thanksgiving day for lunch... We aren't so good at this angle apparently. Our waitress said I looked like a turtle. :)

And then thanksgiving night at Nottoway with my immediate family. Love y'all! This was actually the first year that we've done something at night on Thanksgiving. You see, my brother and my dad work on holidays so we don't get to see them during the day - so I think this made up for it. It was a totally un-traditional Thanksgiving and I think that makes it more enjoyable sometimes. I love changing things up.

And then Friday we had the LSU game to attend where I got to tailgate with this sweet friend.

Saturday we had friendsgiving, and MORE shopping. Which leads us to Sunday, back to the drywall! I guess I wasn't so bad with the pictures. Love this little pup. He's helping his dad.

See what I mean about busy?! Enjoyed every minute of my holidays and so looking forward to my next break! Check back in to see how our drywall is coming along as well as our new safe electrical. Enticing, I know!